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Syracuse, Georgetown basketball to renew rivalry: 8 important answers about the series

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Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has a long history with Georgetown.
Photo by Jennifer Yackel
John Thompson jokingly shoves Jim Boeheim while discussing a time out issue with the ref, Boeheim had asked for a charge call against Georgetown as a joke.
(Jennifer Yackel | The Post-Standard)

Let's start with the inevitable question whenever there is a big game. Is this finally the game you'll move the court to the middle of the Carrier Dome?

Giansante: How do I answer that? We studied that aggressively for the Duke game and I think everyone would concur that this year's Duke game went off in spectacular fashion. It's hard to see how anything could be better than that, but you always look at all your options. I'd assume when Georgetown comes we'll have a similar atmosphere and a similar crowd.

Are there any current plans to go that route for any game in the future?

Giansante: We have all the data from when we worked on it before. It was an extremely detailed discussion. We still have all that data and information on the shelf. We haven't taken it off the shelf.

Do you want this to become an annual series?

Giansante: You have to be mindful about looking that far out. There could be unforeseen changes on the landscape. Having contracts go that far out in basketball is rare. In football you see it, but this is extremely long in basketball. The nature of the contract shows we want the rivalry to continue. Whether it's every year or something regular, you're always looking for things that work.

There are only so many games you play a season. Does this mean you lose one of the other rivalry games?

Giansante: I don't think so. We've got Villanova home and away on the schedule. We have St. Johns and that series going. Those rotate over the years. Syracuse-Georgetown kind of rises to the top. There are very few rivalries that will rise to this level. Duke-North Carolina. Maybe now Duke and Syracuse. To have a rivalry, it's great for TV partners and, most importantly, the student-athletes that come here to play those games.

Are there any other former Big East opponents that you'd like to play? UConn comes to mind.

Giansante: There's always discussions with those teams. It's dependent on each team's schedule every year. We'll see where those lead. There's discussions with virtually everybody. I wouldn't discount it. It's possible. But you can't play a Big East schedule in November and December and an ACC schedule in January and February. No one would do that. But this is why Syracuse is Syracuse. It's one of the top brands in the country. This is what they do. They play large-scale and meaningful games year-round. This fits the bill.

How did the game happen?

Giansante: Dr. (Daryl) Gross and the athletic director at Georgetown have been in good conversations. Daryl led the effort and they got together and were able to figure it out. Leaving from one league to another has its challenges. Even when the rivalries aren't league games they are important and they're fun. Emotionally they're great, business-wise they're great, it's great for the student-athletes. They're complicated to put together. Daryl and Georgetown were able to make it happen (along with) coach Boeheim and coach Thompson.

Did you start talking about how to play this game immediately? Or did hard feelings need to heal first?

Giansante: Those discussions start immediately. When you go into a new league, whether it's for them or for us, you don't know what it will look like. You have Duke and UNC, you have previous obligations for preseason tournaments and marquee games. Those commitments impact if you can play these games. The time frame is limited. You have December and late November to play those games. The time frame is complicated, too. You have coaches vs. cancer tournaments, those things impact the chance to get games done. You're balancing home and away. Those are complicated when it comes to putting.

Did you consider trying to get this game on the schedule this year?

Giansante: There was a desire for sure to get it done and have it on the books to re-start the rivalry. There was a mutual interest, but we're looking at two different size arenas and volume of tickets. All these games will be sold out for whenever they are played. Getting those commensurate ticketing pieces and getting it to where it works for everyone is harder than you'd think, especially out that far. Discussions were always good and were working toward the end goal. Sometimes it takes time.